[joe_meadmaker]

What is the temperature of your fermentation?  If you aren't able to check that directly, what is the temperature of the room where you have your carboy when the fermentation is in progress?

[WiscoGREG]

This is fantastic info.....Thanks to all.  Looks like I am going to do some shopping this weekend  .


Posted by: joe_meadmaker
« on: Today at 02:07:55 AM »
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What is the temperature of your fermentation?  If you aren't able to check that directly, what is the temperature of the room where you have your carboy when the fermentation is in progress?

I just have the stick on thermometers for the carboys.  I do keep an eye on that and where I store them, they typically hold in the 66-69 degree area. 

[denny]

What is the general consensus on glass carboys vs plastic?  The kit I got came with two glass carboys which I have read in several different places that those would be the preferred choice.  However, they are a pain in the arss to clean.  That concerns me as well.  Been temped to change to plastic just be able to access the inside for cleaning purposes.

I started wi5h glass for maybe the first 5 years and hundred batches.  I decided I don't like carboys.  They're fragile and the form fa for makes them difficult to grasp and even more difficult to clean.  I went to buckets for the next 15+ years and 400+ batches.  Totally satisfied with them.

[denny]

Oxiclean free is your friend! I haven't scrubbed a carboy in years. I try not to move my glass much, am careful when I do, and try to keep them in milk crates. They can be very dangerous when they break but MUCH less likely to harbor bacteria. Soak in oxiclean, be careful when rinsing cuz it makes those buggers super slippery, rinse well, sanitize with Star San, hey a new auto siphon and tubing. Or just buy a new plastic bucket and follow the same cleaning and sanitizing routine but be careful not to scratch it.

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Please, let's get past saying that scratches in plastic harbor bacteria.

[TANSTAAFB]

Didn't realize that had been debunked Denny. Please elaborate

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[denny]

Didn't realize that had been debunked Denny. Please elaborate

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Besides the experience of myself and thousands of homebrewers, there is nowhere bacteria can get to that cleaners and sanitizer can't. I have seen statements, but no proof to the contrary.

[TANSTAAFB]

Gotcha. I try to spread the gospel that many old homebrew "facts" are either outdated or just myths and don't like giving BS advice. This was one that just made sense. I thought the argument was that you can't sanitize what you can't clean, that we can't get all the crud out of scratches so sanitizer can't get to where bacteria are living.

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[Robert]

We all eschew plastic vessels, but don't give a second thought to using the same racking tubing for years.

[denny]

We all eschew plastic vessels, but don't give a second thought to using the same racking tubing for years.

Well, not ALL of us!

[jjw5015]

How do your hydrometer samples taste before transfer/bottling? Should help narrow down where things are going awry.

[Slowbrew]

We all eschew plastic vessels, but don't give a second thought to using the same racking tubing for years.

Well, not ALL of us!

Ooooorrr, you replace the old tubing and keep it, "just in case".  Then confuse which is which.   

Paul

[BrewBama]

Simply because something hasn’t been proven to one person’s satisfaction doesn’t mean it can’t be true. That’s a Burden of Proof Fallacy based on an Affirmative Conclusion from a Negative Premise. “It hasn’t happened to me” or “been proven to me” so “it’s not true”.

Neither does an Appeal to Popularity. “Experience of Thousands” doesn’t make something true just because our common sense tells us that if something is popular, it must be true. The thousands could be wrong.

An appeal to authority likewise is irrelevant to the truth. Just because someone in a position of power or has a vast amount of repetitions believes something to be true, doesn't make it true. No matter how loud or forceful the voice.


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[WiscoGREG]

Posted by: jjw5015
« on: Today at 05:05:42 PM »
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How do your hydrometer samples taste before transfer/bottling? Should help narrow down where things are going awry.

jjw5015 - you actually bring up an interesting question.  And I think this does begin to lean towards the transfer siphon and the valve in the bottling bucket.  Going from 1st fermenter to 2nd I thought it tasted ok (granted flat and warm).  Then from 2nd to the bottling bucket I could start noticing a slight change.  I was starting to think it was the bottles themselves - so I was boiling in water, dishwasher sanitize cycle, etc.  That racking cane and the valve in the bucket have not been getting the thorough clean that they obviously need.  Ill be trying a new batch shortly with this info.

Again - thanks for all of the feedback.

[denny]

Simply because something hasn’t been proven to one person’s satisfaction doesn’t mean it can’t be true. That’s a Burden of Proof Fallacy based on an Affirmative Conclusion from a Negative Premise. “It hasn’t happened to me” or “been proven to me” so “it’s not true”.

Neither does an Appeal to Popularity. “Experience of Thousands” doesn’t make something true just because our common sense tells us that if something is popular, it must be true. The thousands could be wrong.

An appeal to authority likewise is irrelevant to the truth. Just because someone in a position of power or has a vast amount of repetitions believes something to be true, doesn't make it true. No matter how loud or forceful the voice.


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Indeed.  But we're talking about homebrewing here and that kind of "proof" is usually good enough. We're not trying to cure cancer.

[jeffy]

Posted by: jjw5015
« on: Today at 05:05:42 PM »
Insert Quote

 

How do your hydrometer samples taste before transfer/bottling? Should help narrow down where things are going awry.

jjw5015 - you actually bring up an interesting question.  And I think this does begin to lean towards the transfer siphon and the valve in the bottling bucket.  Going from 1st fermenter to 2nd I thought it tasted ok (granted flat and warm).  Then from 2nd to the bottling bucket I could start noticing a slight change.  I was starting to think it was the bottles themselves - so I was boiling in water, dishwasher sanitize cycle, etc.  That racking cane and the valve in the bucket have not been getting the thorough clean that they obviously need.  Ill be trying a new batch shortly with this info.

Again - thanks for all of the feedback.

You should also consider eliminating the transfer to the secondary and possibly the transfer to the bottling bucket.  It encourages oxidation, which is probably the change you are tasting.  If you leave the beer in the primary until you're ready to bottle, it will help with the color retention and fresh flavors.  Perhaps you could siphon out of the primary when done into bottles and dose the bottles individually with priming sugar.